Second edition of booklet to combat disinformation in elections launched

Fundação Getulio Vargas’ Rio de Janeiro Law School, through its Center for Technology and Society (CTS), has launched the second volume of its “Superior Electoral Court and Disinformation: Comments on the Court’s Resolutions” booklet, aimed at informing the Brazilian population about the Superior Electoral Court’s work in this area. In this material, information is presented about the court’s measures to tackle disinformation, including key provisions in its resolutions.

The first volume, available here, explains some of core concepts for understanding the Superior Electoral Court’s role in combating disinformation. The document presents the background to recurring and central concepts in resolutions and sentences handed down by the Superior Electoral Court and the Federal Supreme Court.

The second volume provides comments on Superior Electoral Court resolutions that address the issue of disinformation, offering analysis in the light of Brazilian law and international experience. It includes explanatory tables about the type of advertising that is permitted or prohibited during elections and respective obligations to remove content from digital platforms.

About the Superior Electoral Court

The Superior Electoral Court has the power to issue resolutions in order to guarantee uniformity in the application of electoral laws, making the voting process more secure and democratic. Some of these resolutions, particularly the most recent ones, have been criticized due to possible contradictions with Brazil’s Digital Bill of Rights and Federal Constitution. Article 23, item IX of the Electoral Code and articles 57-J and 105 of the Elections Law give the Superior Electoral Court the power to issue instructions it deems appropriate in the execution of the Electoral Code and to regulate elections, according to the context and existing technological tools. Based on this power and considering that Brazil’s Digital Bill of Rights does not impose an explicit obligation on digital platforms to moderate content before judicial requests to do so, the Superior Electoral Court has included provisions in its resolutions demanding a more proactive stance from these platforms. The booklet’s authors analyzed examples in other jurisdictions with similar arrangements, while also highlighting the limits identified by case law and doctrine in respect of the principle of proportionality in restricting the fundamental rights involved.

“There is a lot of disinformation circulating on social networks about the Superior Electoral Court’s actions. In this period of electoral advertising, the issue is gaining relevance and intensifying. It is therefore crucial to understand the legal tools established in resolutions, their rationales and the limits of their application,” says Nicolo Zingales, a professor at the FGV Rio de Janeiro Law School and the coordinator of the school’s platform governance research group.

Election period

It is worth remembering that the period of online electoral advertising in Brazil’s 2024 run-off elections for mayor, deputy mayor and councilor began on October 7 and will end on October 25. The Superior Electoral Court is the highest body in Brazil’s electoral justice system, working together with regional electoral courts to control electoral advertising.

To access the booklet’s second edition, click here.